Lines Written in Dejection by W.B. Yeats

Name: Lines Written in Dejection
Author: W.B. Yeats

The work is a meditation on the loss of enchanting myth and the decline of creative vitality. It contrasts a past steeped in vibrant, magical imagery—a time when the natural and supernatural worlds were filled with dynamic, transformative figures—with a present marked by the stark, unyielding light of reality. The poem laments the disappearance of symbolic elements such as fluid, elusive beings associated with the moon and the mysterious, powerful forces of nature, which once conveyed beauty, wonder, and a sense of heroic grandeur. The speaker reflects on how, with the passage of time and the approach of middle age, those potent symbols of vision and mysticism have been replaced by a harsher, more conventional presence. The earlier, dynamic images of nature—embodied by creatures and mythic representations—have given way to the unremarkable and oppressive reality symbolized by the unrelenting sun. This shift is not merely a change in the landscape but represents an inner transformation where the once-celebrated sources of imaginative inspiration are now supplanted by the monotony and limitations of everyday life. In its exploration of aging, the poem examines the dual themes of creative repression and spiritual desolation. The vibrant forces that once animated the world have been exiled, leaving behind emptiness and disillusionment. This decline is portrayed as a personal loss, where the speaker mourns the fading of creative energy and an era of heightened perception. Such a transformation invokes a broader questioning of whether the loss of mythic wonder has reduced life itself to a state of diminished passion and potential. Through a tapestry of charged symbols and stark contrasts, the work articulates a profound interior crisis—a departure from a realm of heroic myth and elemental beauty into one governed by harsh rationality and the inevitability of aging. The displaced imagery serves as a metaphor for the poet's own experience of moving from an era of rich creative and mystical associations before succumbing to the limitations and realisms of age.

By W.B. Yeats · First published 1890 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Symbolism, Modernist Poetry · 110 words

First lines

When have I last looked on / The round green eyes and the long wavering bodies / Of the dark leopards of the moon?

All the wild witches those most noble ladies, / For all their broom-sticks and their tears, / Their angry tears, are gone.

The holy centaurs of the hills are banished; / And I have nothing but harsh sun; / Heroic mother moon has vanished, / And now that I have come to fifty years / I must endure the timid sun.

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Lines Written in Dejection is listed on Textopian as a poem by W.B. Yeats, dated 1890 CE.

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Work type: Poem
Author: W.B. Yeats
Date: 1890 CE
Language: English
Genres: Lyric Poetry, Symbolism, Modernist Poetry, Mythopoeia
Length: 110 words
Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs

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Genres

Lyric Poetry — Expresses personal emotion and introspection using evocative language and imagery.
Symbolism — Utilizes symbolic imagery and metaphor, drawing on myth and nature to represent abstract sentiments.
Modernist Poetry — Features a break from classical forms with fragmented, complex expressions reflective of early modernist tendencies.
Mythopoeia — Invokes mythological figures and allegorical motifs, blending folklore with poetic expression.